My name is Elly Kedward
by Skyla123
Summary: A collection of One-Shots about Elly Kedward, based on the Blair Witch Project and on the Blair Witch Project Games.
1. Coffin Rock Oct 2009

_If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise… _

The Black Hills.

The infamous woods that have claimed so many lives, the trees that have witnessed many a gruesome death. The screams of men and the giggles of children echo all around, and the town below trembles with fear and wondering who will be next.

It is also the place where I died.

So I had to go back there, even thought the town I knew is long gone. Burkittsville stands in its place, but them memories of Blair have never faded from the townsfolk's memories. The woods saw to that, and in a way so did I.

And there I was, stood on the edge of the woods that turned into my gravesite. The land still gave off the evil and foreboding aura that I sensed back then, but I could also sense the lost souls trapped there. I took my fist step into the forest, and the collective voices of those spirits screamed at me to turn back. They told me to run, before the witch could claim me for her dark master.

_Leave child, before the witch comes!_

_You must go, it is not safe out here for a child!_

_Turn back, it's dangerous here!_

I kept going deeper and deeper into the forest, my path as clear as day to me trough the maze of trails and trees. The voices continue, getting stronger and stronger as I go further into the woods. At last I come upon a familiar sight, and a place of great sadness and pain.

Coffin Rock.

It was to this place I guided the un-dead Lazarus to stop the Holly girl from completing the dark ritual, and it was here that a girl was rescued by the witch hunter . It was also the place where the Bleeding Boy was held for centuries before the Holiday woman rescued him, and his agonized soul was finally laid to rest with his tribe.

I sit on the rock and wait.

For a while nothing happened, I was surrounded by the sounds of the forest and the rushing of the water. Looking closer at the rock, you could still see faint traces of blood soaked into the stone which I trailed with my fingers. The sacrifice that day had been elaborate, with the men stripped and their guts ripped from their withering bodies. The runes had been done with great care, and even I was impressed by the neatness of the symbols.

But as to the purpose of them, well that's another story.

"Child, leave this place!"

I looked behind me, and stood in the mouth of the caves was Lazarus in his uniform. His eyes were still tormented from his possession, even though he had driven the spirit from him and lived to tell the tale. Something had drawn his spirit back to this place, just as it had drawn the last three victims to their deaths.

I turned to fully face him, and I looked straight into his tormented eyes. My voice changed as I spoke to him, and he recognised me immediately because his image became fainter from shock. The bodies of the infamous search party appeared around me, their bodies mutilated and the ancient symbols stark against their naked flesh. Lazarus looked into my eyes, looking for the signs of possession he saw in the Weaver girl. His eyes widened when he could find none.

He watched as my image flickered, turning me from a young woman into the elderly creature I once was. The image vanished along with the corpses, and we were both left on top of the cursed rock with Lazarus staring at me in fear and disbelief.

I stood up and held my hand out to him.

"Hello again, Lazarus."


	2. Black Hills Dec 1785

Snow.

I can feel it landing on my withered old skin, chilling me down to the bone. The winter will be a harsh one, and I pray that it will take me quickly. I pray to the Virgin and to the Father, asking them to deliver my soul from the darkness that surrounds us. I pray for the Judge, the Pastor and even the children as we go further and further into the woods.

The cart holts, and hands roughly pull me down from the chart. My old legs crack and I shuffle along with them pulling at my arms to hurry me up. I feel the rough bark of an old tree at my back, as ropes snake their way around my body and bind me tightly. The blindfold is removed, and my eyes focus on the Judge who is shivering under his thick cloak. The Pastor comes forward and murmurs into his ear, and I hear the phrase "…_last chance at repentance…" _The Judge reluctantly agrees, and signals to one of the constables.

The gag is removed and I lick my withered old lips to speak. The people around me hold their breath, afraid of what spell I might cast upon them. But before I could say a word of my own, the Dark One steals my tongue and warps my voice. I try to fight it, but the cold saps me of my remaining energy.

"REPENTANCE? HA! YOU THINK YOUR GOD HAS ANY SWAY OVER ME? I SWEAR TO YOU, I WILL NOT REST TILL YOU ARE ALL ROTTING IN HELL LIKE THE WHORES AND BASTARDS YOU REALLY ARE! HAHAHAHA!"

The dark spirit continues to scream its curses at them as they run away, using my voice and energy to hurl its insults. But the cold soon makes my body sluggish, and the spirit leaves me alone to die. I know what plans it has for my corpse, a vessel for it to manifest in and exact its revenge upon the town.

So cold.

My body has grown numb, and I am fighting to stay awake. Sleep means death, and death means the ruin of Blair. I would be lying if I did not feel resentment towards the town, but they only acted out of fear for their children. And they were right. The Dark One was waiting for someone like me, a person sensitive to the spirits and knowledgeable in the Old Ways. He infected the children, drawing me out of hiding so he could use me.

The weather grows fouler, blizzard after blizzard batters my old bones and leaves me weeping with the pain I feel in my limbs. Darkness clouds the edges of my vision, and the Dark One can sense it. He closes in all around me, waiting for me to vacate my body and move on. But I keep resisting, and with each passing hour it becomes harder and harder to do so.

I lose the battle to keep my eyes open, maybe if I rest them for a moment…

When I wake up, I know I am dead.

My body feels light and the cold no longer affects me. The aches and pains have gone, and I feel years younger. But the fact my body has disappeared from the tree dampens my enthusiasm. I can feel the Dark One's influence reaching towards Blair, and the townspeople can feel it too. But evil has already taken root there. And my heart fills with dread when I realize who it is.

Elizabeth.

My pupil has now become an enemy of the people she promised to aide. The Dark One has promised her much it seems, and he has taken my power along with my body so I am useless against him. With Elizabeth gone over to him, I must seek out another to defend the town. I may be a reviled witch to them, but I can't abandon my Christian duty to help my neighbours when they are in distress.

I pray to the Lord that I will find someone in time.


	3. Rustin Parr's House 2009

Elspeth Holiday.

The agent from Spookhouse had arrived in Blair, or Burkittsville as it was now known over sixty years ago. People still talked about the FBI agents that went into the woods to investigate the infamous Rustin Parr murders. And it was that story among others that lead the three missing teens to their deaths.

Lazarus was following me, I could hear him muttering to himself as we walked. We had left Coffin Rock behind us and were headed to another familiar site, the one which had brought Elspeth to the woods in the first place.

Rustin Parr's house.

The townspeople had burned it to the ground the night before Parr had been executed, but as Elspeth had discovered if you knew which path to walk you could still find it intact. Lazarus himself had never been to the house, since it had been built long after his death, but he knew of it. When we went down the path that lead to the portal, he actually grabbed my arm to stop me.

"This is not a good idea girl, that place is not safe for the likes of you."

"So you believe me then?"

He released my arm and motioned for me to sit down, I picked up some sticks and sat down on the ground. Lazarus paced for a few moments before sitting on a rock in front of me, adjusting his sword as he sat down.

"I do not know what to believe. But I can not deny the evidence of my own eyes, and besides, you are a child. It would be irresponsible of me to let you go into danger alone, after what you have done for me in the past."

"You deserved a second chance. Hecaitomix stole your life from you, because he knew you were a threat. So it was only right that you had the chance to pay him back, and save the Weaver girl at the same time."

He was silent after that, and he watched me create a familiar doll out of the sticks I'd picked up. The portal was only a little way down the path, but just beyond it was another important site. One I knew I had to visit first.

"A grave?"

"Yes, a very important one."

I crouched down closer to the grave, feeling the residual energy of the boy who laid there at peace. For centuries he had been in a constant state of limbo, neither alive or dead as Hecaitomix sucked his young energy away. But thanks to Elspeth, the boy was free and now at rest with his tribe.

"Who's is it?"

"Bleeding Boy. Another child that was lost because of Hecaitomix."

Lazarus stepped forward to pay his respects as well, while I went over to the portal and tried to place the charm on the arch above me.

"Need some help?"

Lazarus came up behind me and took the charm from me, hanging it up on the branch. The portal activated, and I knew Lazarus could sense it. He tensed and put his hand on my shoulder, his previous reservations about me forgotten.

"This leads to the house?"

"Yes, in a way. In this plane the house was destroyed, but on that one it still exists. So if I'm right, Elspeth should be there."

"How can you be sure, child? Its been a long time since anyone came this way…"

The portal opened with a low hum, signalling its presence to us just beyond the archway. Lazarus went through first, revolver drawn as he went. I followed him, feeling the portal shimmer over me as I went through. Lazarus retrieved the doll, handing it to me for safe keeping as I looked around.

The woods looked the same, but the atmosphere was more lifeless and sinister. Hecaitomix's influence still lingered on the plane, because the house stood in the distance completely undamaged by the fire that had destroyed it on our plane. I could sense Elspeth nearby, fading in and out of the house every so often.

You see, Elspeth was not quite dead yet. I had found her in some secluded home for former government employees, hooked up to life support machines that had been running for nearly four decades. And because of the woods, her spirit was sucked out of her body and she was trapped inside Rustin Parr's house for long periods of time.

"Ready, child?"

Lazarus was waiting, constantly on the lookout for danger with his revolver drawn and his hand resting on his sword. I began to approach the house, the hairs on the back of my neck rising as I remembered what had happened in this house. The children screaming, crying for their mothers and the mental anguish they suffered as they waited to die by the hermit's hand.

A shot was fired at Lazarus's feet.

He promptly pushed me behind a tree as he tried to locate the shooter, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the head. An experience he was all too familiar with, no thanks to Hecaitomix.

"I don't know who you are, but you will not sacrifice that child here! Let her go!"

"I have no intention of harming the girl!"

"Then send her home!"

More shots were fired, and I watched from behind the tree as Elspeth Holiday came out of the house and reloaded her gun. She kept firing at Lazarus, who was pinned behind a boulder and unable to return fire.

"Send the child home, this house is not safe-"

"-I told her that when she brought us here!"

"What? The child…"

Elspeth finally lowered her gun, and I stepped out from behind the tree. Lazarus came out as well, his revolver aimed at Elspeth as he approached. I walked over to Elspeth, stopping just short of her and held my hand out to her.

"Nice to finally meet you, Doc Holiday."

"Who are you?"

"My name is…"


	4. Tappy East Creek 1825

Eileen Treacle.

The death of that child was no accident. Hecaitomix was weakened after the battle with Jonathan Prye, and that made him very angry. The Blair township had been abandoned, and the local native tribes had moved away depriving him of his source of power.

Then the railway came to the Black Hills.

The township was revived and renamed Burkittsville, and Hecaitomix once again had a ready supply of human hosts. In the first year they stayed away from the woods, fearing wolves or bears lived in them and would devour the children. But after a successful harvest the people decided to have a picnic to celebrate near Tappy East Creek.

The outcome was inevitable.

Hecaitomix waited for a child to come close and lured her to her death, using one of his familiars in the water to drag the girl away. She was taken to him, and the child was tortured to the point of death. Her pain fuelled Hecaitomix's power, and he was able to restore himself to full strength once more.

Hecaitomix wanted to grab more children. But the local Shamans were ready for him; as soon as the child Eileen had been taken they had flooded the creek with foul oil like substance. The oil kept people from using the creek for drinking water, but it would not put the children off playing there. So I put dolls in the creek, which spooked the adults and kept the children away from Hecaitomix and his servents.

In Hecaitomix's lair Eileen was on the verge of death, but like Bleeding Boy he was keeping her alive to act as a second power source. Years past and the girl continued to scream and beg for God to spare her, and Hecaitomix would laugh at her pleas and increase the pain. Eventually the child gave up crying for help, her spirit broken beyond repair.

The child would have remained trapped if not for the Natives. My presence in the woods had always caused them concern, but they had always known that something far worse than me dwelled within the woods. So when the child was taken, they captured and bound my spirit as punishment for the kidnapping.

But when the child's body failed to appear they realised the truth.

So they decided to use my spirit to rescue the child. They lent me just enough power to break through into Hecaitomix's dimension, and as soon as the child was released the power would return to the Shamans. They did not trust me, and the feeling was mutual. But I did want the child to disappear. Because the longer she and Bleeding Boy feed Hecaitomix, the more powerful and dangerous he would become.

Eileen was held on Coffin Rock, next to Bleeding Boy. The pair of them was laying side by side, their blood intermingling on the rock. The children were unconsciously drawing comfort from each other, which was no surprise in a hellish place like that. The place had witnessed great evil, and it was destined to see much more bloodshed before the end. Hecaitomix had sensed me and was approaching fast so I needed to make a decision, and I only had enough energy to save one of the children.

Bleeding Boy was my choice since he was the main source, but the Shamans had other ideas in mind.

The energy wrapped itself around the girl, and I could feel us both starting to fade away. Bleeding Boy was sad to see us go, but he understood in his own way. Hecaitomix was almost upon us as we faded away from his dimension, leaving him screeching and raving in fury. The girl was dead the moment we appeared in the woods, and it was impossible to bury her with her family because of how much time had passed.

So I used what energy I had left to bury the child in the abandoned Blair graveyard, next to the other children that Hecaitomix had maimed and killed. It was still consecrated ground so her spirit was appeased and she moved on, leaving her story behind as a warning to others not to underestimate the woods.

A warning that was not heeded.


	5. Black Hills 2009

"Let me get this straight. You have come back here to find Hecaitomix?"

I nodded. Elspeth was not convinced, as I knew she would be after hearing my tale. Lazarus had put his revolver away after I had begun my tale, but he stayed close just in case something decided to interrupt the conversation. The house behind us was still as foreboding as the day Elspeth discovered it, and the smell of blood and rotting flesh was enough to make even the strongest stomach heave.

Rustin Parr had been an unwitting pawn in Hecaitomix's schemes, a fragile mind so broken he still thought he was in control when Hecaitomix used my voice to instruct him to kill the children. The truth was he had been broken since childhood, when he wandered off on his own in the woods far from his Uncle's watchful eye.

"Hecaitomix was sealed away. I used a doll to seal him away, just like the local Shaman showed me!"

"Hecaitomix used another doll, did he not?"

Elspeth went quiet, her mind running through the scenario once again. Realisation dawned on her face, and the look of alarm was quickly suppressed under her professional mask.

"Yes. There was another doll at the centre of the portal, under a pile of stones..."

"Stones? Like a small alter?"

I knew what Lazarus was thinking, it was just like when he rescued Robin Weaver at Coffin Rock. The spirits were tied to alters made of stones, and they had created a barrier keeping him from the possessed Robin and the mutilated men upon the rock.

"The stones are an ancient way of casting magic. They symbolise the earth, and draw great power from nature. Hecaitomix uses them to cast spells."

The pair shared a look before meeting my gaze.

"The children who disappeared in the woods over a decade ago saw the stones as well. Hecaitomix used them to lure them to this dimension, where they became the latest source of his power."

Lazarus groaned as Elspeth shook her head.

"I am here to bring them out of the woods. It is time to set their souls free, but I cannot do this alone."

"So you have come here to ask for our help?"

Elspeth was right. I needed their help because of their experiences with Hecaitomix, and maybe a chance to redeem myself in their eyes and send them to their eternal rest at last.

"Very well, I will help you."

I released a breath I did not realise I was holding. With Elspeth and Lazarus my odds of succeeding had greatly improved, but there was one more person I wanted to ask for help. But this one would be difficult, due to the nature we had parted ways before.

The Parr house stood silent as we walked away, heading for the portal that led back to our dimension. Passing through the portal unopposed, Lazarus took down the doll and handed it back to me once more.

"Oh, God..."

Elspeth was crouched in front of a small pile of stones, a pile that definitely was **not** there when Lazarus and I went through the portal earlier.

"It's true...he has come back."

Elspeth examined the pile, pulling out a doll and handing it to me. It was a doll that leads to Hecaitomix's new dimension, in other words it was a challenge from the Dark One to try and save the lost children.

One we were willing to accept.


	6. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Attention All, for I have a message for the masses...

I have a lot to do at the moment at home, and thus I don't have enough time to write up all the chapters that dwell in my notebook. So I have put a poll on my Author's page, which gives you all the option to vote for which story I update first.

Please look for the poll at the top of my Author's page, and vote for the one you **really **want me to update.

You have my thanks for reading this message.

**P.S** Many thanks to those of you who have recently either reviewed or story alerted any of my works, they have been the few worthwile emails in my inbox as of late.

Please send me some more!

**11/8/2012**

Just read a review by Cloudcity'sbookworm who kindly pointed out that I'd left out Ebony and Ivory from the Poll, a mistake I can't believe I didn't notice before! I have corrected that little oversight, and now you all can vote for it.

Many thanks to Cloudcity'sbookworm, and I apologise to all of you who wanted to vote for Ebony and Ivory.

Must of been having a blonde moment.


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